Lameness

[Scribbler]

I wonder if there are any very young Olympic dressage riders today. The qualification process is much more complex and expensive than 40 years ago. My sense is that there are more likely to be top younger riders in high end jumpers because more teens do the jumper based medals and hunters programs, and those skills transfer to show jumping as an adult.

Also these days I would assume an emerging top junior dressage rider would be in the FEI Young Riders competitions.

Interestingly I did watch some videos on that channel. FD stubbed a toe once. Interestingly in an unrelated video, a different person on “Lennox” soldiering through what was captioned a 4-1 test, the first thing I was was horse stubbing a toe at the first halt at x and stumbling (I think he fell on the forehand at the halt) .

I would also say the pipeline to riding is very different in Germany, which has a structured program for learning and teaching dressage, and costs are apparently much lower. There’s a reason Germany dominates dressage the way Canada dominates hockey (and not vice versa) which in both cases is that there’s a lot of public resources put into finding and developing young athletes. Where I live any boy with hockey talent is going to get loads of support and encouragement but I don’t think we have a single coach taking clients up to FEI. Or even fourth.

[4horses]

He looks pretty good in those videos. I would want to see the cross canter if you have any videos of that. Not sure how much of this thread I have missed with the deleted sections, but from what I see he looks like a nice horse.

No horse is perfect. Sometimes you have to work around whatever imperfections your horse has. Many horses have kissing spines without symptoms. Many horses have physical limitations and you just have to figure out how you are going to treat and manage those limitations.

Some children are lucky to even have a horse. I have one student who would love to own a horse. She has a lot of dreams but her parents are skeptical because they know finances are limited.

I would make sure you have a good vet team look at him and decide from there if he needs time off and what kind of rehabilitation timeline you are looking at. I don’t think he is a total loss and he may grow up to be just fine.

One thing about cross cantering I will mention it does show up in horses with pssm or other muscle issues. I am not certain he has that. Stifle and SI issues can also cause cross cantering, as can kissing spine.

He may be just fine for your daughter to bring along under saddle but eventually she may want a different horse. When I used to show, most people would upgrade to a better horse. At a certain point it became more about who had the most money and could buy the best horse, rather than actual skill or riding ability.

One of the girls who took lessons at my barn, went out and bought a perfectly trained show horse and won every class she entered. Some of the other girls had cheaper horses and spent far more time and effort developing those horses and those girls certainly deserved more recognition in my opinion then the girl who could buy the perfect horse.

[Manni01]

What about Charlotte Fry and Annabella Pidgely? Both are British. In Germany there is a whole bunch in the waiting row… Raphael Netz, Felicitas Hendricks with Drombusch (I believe she won everything in Wellington). So yes it is possible IF the management is perfect!!

That’s why I mentioned that you need to move where the coach is….
I really believe I have not heard about a rider making it to the Olympics in young age without a famous able coach…

The rider who made it to the Olympics without a famous coach was Klaus Balkenhol with Rabauke his Police horse. But he was older…
you really have to look at all these stories and compare them with your situation and then try to get out helpful advice and situations for your specific situation….

[fordtraktor]

It’s a very nice horse. I don’t see any obvious lameness in the videos at all, and so am pretty good at spotting unevenness. I saw one trip but horses do that sometimes, especially when not being ridden particularly forward.

I’d be happy to have this good-minded youngster in my barn. Give it time and patience. I would go next to a major university hospital for workup for inconsistent, persistent lameness. You probably aren’t too far from New Bolton, the gold standard.

And keep it away from Celeste.

[lazaret]

And Rembrandt was bought for a 14 year old Nicole, who was not capable of riding him and he was sent to Klaus Balkenhol who rode him for four years before Nicole was able to take the reins.

The rest of your examples have another common thread: large amounts of money.

[fivestrideline]

@Scribbler

Fifth, $70k is not a budget for an Olympic horse, even a project. Yes, Charlotte DuJardin has spotted diamonds in the rough and has the training skills and trainer support to make them into competitive horses. But you and I and your daughter are not Charlotte and we don’t have Karl Hester as a mentor.

Very few of us are CDJ or have Hester as a mentor, or could produce something like Valegro from a youngster.

@Scribbler

Also that seller saw you coming from a mile away. Middle class parents with no trainer support saying daughter wants an Olympic horse is going to shout “innocent newbie” from the roof tops. It’s fine for a ten year old to say that at home. For an adult to say that in a buying situation is asking to be taken for a ride.

Absolutely. Even upper class/1% parents with no trainer intermediary or equivalent personal experience would be targeted by a seller - they don’t even have to misrepresent the horse, they just put a little sales pressure on and wham! $70k in their pocket. This doesn’t make OP a bad horse owner, or even a gullible person necessarily! Just unprepared to face the reality of purchasing and now having to learn these lessons the hard way.

@Scribbler

All that said, iMHO the benefits of owning a horse for kids have nothing to do with competition level, and messing around with a backyard horse has amazing benefits. I hope she gets a chance to ride made horses while the odyssey with the Green Giant plays out. Learning good groundwork is fantastic

Absolutely.

OP, everything @Scribbler said is spot on. And said with the best of intentions, though maybe a bit tough to hear.

[Manni01]

Really ? Charlotte Fry is rich? I know her mother rode in the Olympics but she died some years ago and Charlotte Fry is working as a Professional in a big Dutch Stallion barn (all her horses are standing in that barn)

And Balkenhol was a cop……

[Manni01]

Yes I agree with you but would like to add that he really needs time to develope…

[lazaret]

Her mother owned a very successful dressage facility, supported by Lottie’s father, Simon Fry and his family.

Further, though, she ended up at Van Olst by recommendation of Carl Hester, who was close with her mother. It’s hardly a comparable situation.

[enjoytheride]

The point is that young people who made it to the Olympics had a lot of different things happening all at once that made it happen which THIS young person may not have. Money is probably the number one factor then connections, horse soundness, talent, etc.

[Manni01]

Well that makes her rich??? Also Charlotte Dujardin is not coming from particular rich background…

As I said the management has to be perfect to reach high end goals… Money is helpful but it will not get you to the Olympics….
I know somebody who stated she wanted to go to the Olympics. She has an unlimited supply of money. I would say she was a first level rider. so she bought some horses (IMO expensive but unsuitable) she built a beautiful facility from scratch, she decided to breed an approved stallion and to my surprise she found an amazing coach.

For some time she really improved. she bought some more horses and foals (because she wanted to develope her own horses.). Then the coach left, not sure why. So she got a new coach and some more expensive horses.
as far as I know she has not made it into the Team…. and she never ran out of money….

Money is not the main factor….

[lazaret]

It’s either money, or connections. It’s never neither.

If you really want to hold up any example of this sort of story, it’s Laura Graves, and even she would likely be the first to tell you it was the ultimate fairy tale with a lot of luck along the way.

[fivestrideline]

As expected, the mention of Olympic dreams is slightly derailing this thread (totally fine, it happens!).

But @FD, I hope you revisit with vet updates. I would think a vet school, especially if NB is close, would be worth the time and expense. I find vet schools to be cheaper and more efficient at finding root causes, especially if it’s a simple but not obvious thing (like heel pain/chip/suspensory inflammation due to whatever vs a gaping wound).

[Mersidoats]

Since you clarified that you did this on your own, what has your trainer advised you to do with this horse? You have received some good advice from some strangers on the internet, but your trainer is the person who is interacting with this horse on a daily basis…or should be.

I’m glad your daughter loves this horse. Get thee to an excellent lameness vet, the best sporthorse farrier you can find, and turn that baby out for as much as possible. And treat the white line disease - White line disease is no joke.

[Manni01]

Well I would agree that chances are very slim….

But this is the USA isn’t it? And you can persue your dreams!!! Why giving up without trying???
I would be careful money wise because ruining the family is not worth it, but otherwise go for it!!

A famous trainer told me once that riding is constantly trying to improve your horse by training it. You do this as long as the horse lives and as it is healthy. But you really don’t know where you end up. he said you will know how far you got if you stop riding the horse….
I believe he is right!

[lazaret]

I’m just going to chime in here that the fact they ended up with a barely-4-year old brand new import that is rideable by a teenager at that age and with that level of training is in fact the miracle in this whole story.

I hope the OP realizes what a good natured soul they’ve acquired and how nice this horse could be if given the proper time and training. This could have ended so, so, so badly beyond a mild lameness.

[sparkygrace]

@Mersidoats

And treat the white line disease - White line disease is no joke.

Yes! I know a fabulous import who retired early due to white line disease. If not treated early and agressively it is debilitating and can cause permanent pain and lameness.

[cayuse]

I watched a few too. Saw the toe stub. He looked good to me. Nice horse!

[SpicyPRE]

Lots of great advice here! My comment is regarding turnout - make sure it is more than a paddock and that your horse has friends so that they can run and play. Running up and down hills and playing is so good for a young horse’s mind and body.

And speaking of running, RUN from Celeste Leilani. RUN

[luvmyhackney]

Watched the video on lunch. What a cute horse, what a good baby brain!

Toe trip was the only thing I saw and honestly not a big deal as he’ll probably grow out of it. He just needs to grow and not do anything stressful to his young joints.

Take him hacking, let him play in water, play in turnout with friends in a big field.